Today’s installment of Consumer Etiquette will deal with everyday people, every shopper in general. The following parts will touch more in depth about the fringe groups and other general group, such as senior citizens, drunks, junkies, kids, and so on.
Today I’ll outline a few do’s and don’t which everyone can apply to their shopping experience. Yesterday’s installment on What You Might Not Know covered a lot of things along these lines, so I’ll do my best to avoid mentioning them again.
We’ll kick off with a very negative behavioral attribute: Complaining.
Many, many people, from all walks of life, love to complain. Don’t get me wrong, in some situations it’s very beneficial and right to complain. Remember that the underlying motto of pretty much all customer service is “The Customer Is Always Right”. With prices being very similar in different chains, stores have began to compete with the level and quality of customer service. The problem arises when consumers abuse their privilege of receiving good service.
Too often people demand too much, thinking they’re entitled to a privileged position above everyone else. This is where the motto does not work. Yes, the assumption is that the customer is always right, but in reality, they’re rarely right. The whole concept is just a reminder to the clerks that the customer means more to the store than the worker.
Even with that in mind, one must remember not to take the motto literally. Most consumers are clueless as to how things work in a store (see yesterday’s installment for some things the average consumer doesn’t know).
This is where complaining comes in to the picture. People complain on a daily basis, all the time. If the average consumer had even an inkling of what is like to work in customer service, the world would be a better place, a more efficient place.
Most of the said complaints are ridiculous at best, things that the clerk cannot control themselves. One of the main complaints is about the amount of staff present to serve the consumers, i.e. the inadequate number of persons working at the checkout counters. This is not the clerks’ fault, so there’s no use in complaining about it. If the store happens to be understaffed, don’t complain to the clerk. Complain to management. It’s a business, and businesses are all about profit. Worker salaries are one of the largest drains of profit, so to make more money, management keeps the manhours at the bare minimum. Typically, the amount of hours for workers available is directly attributable to the same period of time the previous year. If at this time last year it was a quiet week, there’ll be less workers this year. Simple enough. If this means you have to stand in line a few minutes extra, that’s not the clerk’s fault.
Another redundant complaint to clerks is about the price of goods. THE CLERKS DON’T CONTROL THE PRICE OF GOODS! Once again, direct your complaints towards management if you think something costs too much. Oh, and telling the clerk that something costs too much and threatening that from now onwards you’re going to be shopping with the competing chain isn’t going to do any good. We just work there.
Closing times. If the store closes at 9pm, don’t even think about walking in 3 minutes before closing time to do your week’s shopping. The industry standard is that the clerks don’t get said overtime if they have to wait around for you to finish your shopping. Typically, we only have 15-30 minutes (depending on the store) after closing to serve the rest of the customers, close our cashes, take our money away (maybe even count the money), perhaps clean, get changed and lock the doors. We will not wait around for you. We have lives as well, you know…
If you’re in a hurry coming into the store, or once you reach the cash register, don’t whine to up that we’re slow and that you’re in a hurry. Just because you didn’t manage your time better, that’s not our fault. If you’ve got a bus to catch within 5 minutes of walking into the store, don’t assume that we’ll work twice as fast just for you. We’re supposed to treat each customer equally, and that means we’re not your personal slave.
Staying in the complaints department, we’re human and we need breaks. If we happen to close our cash to go on a break, don’t start complaining and demanding service right now, because you won’t get it from us. We’re entitled to breaks. Typically, when we go on a break, we’ve been sitting at the checkout counter for several hours or more, and really need a break. Same applies to closing our cash registers when our shift ends while the store is still open. Again, no overtime if we stay to serve you and the 20 people behind you who’ll also demand service if we serve you when we should be counting our money. No use in complaining and whining. We have lives outside of serving you.
Going back to waiting in line a few minutes longer. Even when there are plenty of cash registers open to serve you, you might have noticed that sometimes some lines move slower than others. We’re only as slow as the people in front of you. Granted, sometimes we make mistakes. Have patience, we’re human. We make mistakes. But, regardless, most of the delays are due to other customers. So once it’s your turn, don’t complain about us being slow when it’s clearly not our fault. Even worse, if you’re in line and it’s not moving, don’t scream at us to hurry up. We can’t move any faster if the person we’re serving is inept.
Going back to complaining about prices, let’s touch upon stingy people. It seems to be somewhat of a rule of thumb that the wealthier the customer, the stingier they are. It’s the man in an expensive Italian suit or the woman with diamond rings, bracelets and necklaces who complain about the prices the most and want stuff for free. I guess that’s how they stay rich I guess…
Conversing with the clerk may not always be a desirable thing. Sure, if you’re considerate and funny in a general way, just chit-chatting, that’s fine. Sometimes we really like it. Witty anecdotes are just fine. What we don’t like is jokers who don’t realize they’re not funny, the weirdos, and especially people who think we’d really be interested in their personal issues and life stories. We’re typically not interested. Especially if you start chatting to us about your hernia operation when there’s twenty people in line behind you waiting for their turn. If we start talking with you, the other people will complain.
Here’s one of my pet peeves. You don’t know the store rules concerning the staff and you don’t know how the cash register works. So don’t tell us to “just punch something in the register” when the code doesn’t work. We typically aren’t allowed to do that. Usually the cash register isn’t that easy to use or learn how to use. We can’t just “punch something” into the computer. It doesn’t work that way. You don’t know how it works, we know better. No, really. We know better than you. I’ll put it simply. You’re clueless. End of discussion.
Here’s a consumer quirk which is funny, yet somewhat annoying. If the store is to be closed for one day for a public holiday, people go nuts on the day before the store is due to be closed. Seriously, EVERYONE goes shopping on that day. This applies mainly to grocery markets. People, you won’t starve in one day. Oh, and here’s a hint: you know beforehand that the store is to be closed on a particular day. If you’re worried you’ll run out of food, PREPARE FOR IT! When the store is closed for the whole weekend, oh. dear. god… It’s just added stress for the clerks when you do this.
Being a guy, I almost forgot about this one because it mainly applies to girls. Men, DON’T hit on the female workers. They’re working. I’ve heard of very lewd suggestions that have been directed by 50-year old men to 19-year old girls at the cash in a supermarket. You have no chance with these girls. They’re at work, and they’re really not looking to find a date while at work. It’s sexual harassment. So don’t do it.
I can’t stress this enough. A little bit of respect for the person serving you will go a long way. We might even stay at our cash a few minutes longer to serve you if you’re nice, or we might give you a free bag or some other favor…
And concerning complaints, general complaints as outlined above are not the clerk’s fault, responsibility, or job. Direct those complaints towards management. If you have a direct complaint or remark about our performance, we’d like to hear it personally to be able to improve how we work. Oh, but please, please, be civil about it.
The customer is barely ever right. Sorry to tell you the truth, but unless you’ve worked in customer service, you have no idea.
[<---Go To Part 1]
[Go To Part 3--->]
Part Zero: Introduction [16.08.2007]
Part One: What You Might Not Know [17.08.2007]
Part Two: Everyday People [18.08.2007]
Part Three: Under The Influence [19.08.2007]
Part Four: Children And Their Parents [20.08.2007]
Part Five: Senior Citizens [21.08.2007]
Part Six: Animals [22.08.2007]
Part Seven: Disorderly Conduct [23.08.2007]
Part Eight: Tips And Hints [24.08.2007]
Part Nine: For The Workers [25.08.2007]
Part Ten: Summary [26.08.2007]
If you have any comments, experiences or additions to this post, please leave a comment! Thank you in advance!
